Somewhere For The Weekend ... Bilbao

WHY GO NOW?

WHY GO NOW?

The third week of August is the time to head south-west to see Bilbao at its most active. This weekend, celebrations of the city's Basque heritage reach a climax; the Aste Nagusia festival (00 39 94 479 5760; www.bilbao.net/astenagusia) ends on 24 August. This is one of Spain's liveliest fiestas, comprising eight days and nights of processions, parades, concerts, dances, demonstrations of rural sports (including stone lifting, log chopping and hay-bale tossing) and bullfights. There are also nightly firework displays, best viewed from the city's bridges. Bus stops and street crossings are repainted gaudily and bright scarves draped around the necks of the city's statues.

Among the parade figures, look out for Gargantua, a fat man who eats children only to expel them through a flap in the back of his trousers, and Mari Jaia, the mascot of the fiesta. Music plays an important part of the celebrations, with free performances of all kinds on stages in squares and churches throughout the city. You won't go hungry, either, as there are daily cookery contests and an abundance of food stalls. Revellers will party through tosunrise.

DOWN PAYMENT

For a quick trip away, the 35-hour, twice-weekly ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao with P&O Ferries (08705 202 020, www.poferries.com) is probably not ideal. So instead fly from Gatwick with British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), from Stansted with easyJet (0870 600 0000, www.easyjet.com) or from Heathrow with Iberia (0845 601 2854, www.iberia.com). The lowest fare for travel out on Friday and back on Bank Holiday Monday is £160 on easyJet.

Bilbao's futuristic new airport is Sondica, 9km north of the city. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, it's known by locals as "la paloma" (the dove), though its graceful curves are said to have been inspired by whales. The airport bus, A-3247, takes about 25 minutes to reach Paseo del Arenal/Plaza Moyua in the city centre for €1 (£0.70). Departures are every half hour from Monday to Friday, hourly at weekends. Taxis cost €15-20 (£11-£14).

INSTANT BRIEFING

Bilbao was founded in 1300 and is Spain's fourth-biggest city (after Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia). It is also the capital of the Basque Country, the Euskadi. Straddling the Nervion river, it is Spain's biggest port. There are two official languages, Spanish and Euskara (the Basque language): most signs are bilingual.

The promise of a new beginning for this industrial city that came with the 1997 opening of Frank Gehry's spectacular Guggenheim Museum has not proved to be a false dawn. Bilbao's transformation continues apace. Recent completions include a futuristic Norman Foster-designed subway system - its entrances look like enormous glass snails - and, on what was industrial wasteland next to the Guggenheim, a vast waterfront development of parks, shops and flats designed by Cesar Pelli. Meanwhile, tucked into a bend on the river, the characterful Casco Viejo (Old Quarter) is attractive and atmospheric, its boutiques, cafés and bars bursting with life. Bilbao is a lively city of arts and modern architecture, a genuine mix of old and new.

The main tourist office is at Calle Rodrigo Arias (00 34 94 479 5760, www.bilbao.net). It opens 9am-2pm and 4-7.30pm from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays, the hours are 9am-2pm, on Sundays 10am-2pm. A more useful operation is run at the airport (daily 7.30am-11pm). There is also a tourist office next to the Guggenheim at Avenida Abandoibarra 2, open 10am-3pm and 4-7pm daily, though not on Sunday afternoons.

For information in the UK contact the Spanish Tourist Office (020-7486 8077). Online, visit www.tourspain.co.uk or www.spain.info. In Bilbao, single bus or metro journeys cost €1-€1.25 (70p-90p) and a one-day pass is €3 (£2.15). But most sights are close together; the riverside walk between the Guggenheim and Casco Viejo is popular with locals in the early evenings.

REST ASSURED

There are two stunning modern choices close to the Guggenheim. Rooms at the Gran Hotel Domine at Alameda Mazarredo 61 (00 34 94 425 3300, www.granhoteldominebilbao.com) are available for €246 (£175), but check for special offers - rooms can cost just €150 (£107) through www.expedia.co.uk. The stylish 50-room Miró at Alameda Mazarredo 77 (00 3494 661 1880, www.mirohotelbilbao.com) was created by the fashion designer Antonio Miró; a double costs €161 (£115). For a traditional classic hotel, try the elegant Carlton at Plaza Federico Moyua 2 (00 34 94 416 2200, www.aranzazu-hoteles.com), which has an Art Deco atrium; past guests include Orson Welles, Ernest Hemingway and Lauren Bacall. A double costs €80 (£57).

Just across from the Arriaga Theatre and a 20-minute riverside walk from the Museo Guggenheim, the Petit Palace Arana, Bidebarrieta 2 (00 34 94 415 6411, www.hthoteles.com) is an interesting combination of hi-tech steel and glass with original parts of the stone, wood and brick structure. The rate is €80 (£57), including breakfast. A budget option is Hostal Mardones, Jardines 4 (00 34 94 415 3105), with simple rooms and a good Casco Viejo location for just €42 (£30).

MUST SEE

The Guggenheim Bilbao, Abandoibarra Et 2 (00 34 94 435 9080, www.guggenheim-bilbao.es ) is as impressive outside as in: walk across La Salve bridge for even better views of the amazing titanium-clad exterior. Inside there's a 55m high atrium, and the gallery rooms are bright and spacious - perfect settings for some of the world's best modern art exhibits. It opens 10am-8pm daily except Monday, and seven days a week in July and August. Admission is €8 (£5.50).

Housing an outstanding collection of works from the 12th century to the present day is the Fine Arts Museum (Museo de Bellas Artes) at Plaza del Museo 2 (00 34 94 439 6060, www.museobilbao.com). It opens 10am-8pm from Tuesday to Saturday, and 10am-2pm on Sundays, admission €4.50 (£3.10), free on Wednesdays. A €10 (£7) Bono Artean ticket gives entry to both the Guggenheim and the Fine Arts museums. To learn more about Basque history and culture, visit the Basque Museum, Plaza Unamuno 4 (00 34 94 415 5423, www.euskal-museoa.org). It opens 11am-5pm from Tuesday to Saturday, 11am-2pm on Sundays, admission €3 (£2.15), free on Thursdays.

You can also while away time wandering the pedestrianised cobbled streets of the Casco Viejo. Take the funicular ride up to Artxanda - which rises 770 metres in three minutes - for spectacular views of the city: every 15 minutes, €0.70 (£0.50). The lower terminal is in Plaza Funicular, close to the north end of Calatrava's dramatic Zubizuri pedestrian bridge.

MUST BUY

Shopping hours tend to be 9am-1.30pm and 4-8pm, Monday-Saturday, but many shops close during Aste Nagusia. Major shopping streets are Gran Via and Ercilla: El Corte Inglés (Gran Via 7-9) is the big department store. Casco Viejo offers stylish boutiques and independents - head for the Siete Calles area, bordered by Calle Ronda and Calle Pelota. Visit Instiuto (Calle Somera 31) or inhale the perfume at Alegria (Calle Bidebarrieta 12), one of Bilbao's best florists.

For excellent local produce go to Txorierri, Artecalle 25, or Spain's largest indoor market, the bustling Mercado de la Ribera (Calle Ribera). There's also a Sunday flea market in the Plaza Nueva.

MUST EAT

Many visitors (and locals) forsake sit-down meals in favour of nibbling at bars; see Into the Night. Eating is no trivial matter for Basques. In the evening restaurants rarely open before 9pm. Traditional dishes revolve around veal, lamb, and fresh fish (especially cod), often in olive-oil sauces. Though its drinks are justifiably famous, visit Iruña, Jardines de Albia (00 34 94 423 7021) for over-the-top marble and mudejar-tiled decor. A faded Art Deco interior is the best reason to pop in to Bilbao's oldest coffee shop, Café Boulevard, Arenal 3 by the Teatro Arriaga, dating from 1871.

The city is celebrated for cod, at its best at Guria, Gran Via 66 (00 34 94 441 5780). There are set menus at €41 (£30) and €59 (£42) - Cod Pil Pil is €22 (£15). Across the river from the Mercado de la Ribera, El Perro Chico Aretxaga 2 (00 34 94 415 0519) is justifiably popular; the entrance is on Calle de Marzana. Starters are €10 (£7), mains €16 (£11).

If simple, tasty Peruvian food appeals, try Aji Colorado, Barrencalle 5 (0034 94 415 2209). It offers three types of ceviche from €9.65 (£7); closed Monday. A popular vegetarian place is Garibolo, Fernandez del Campo 7 (00 3494 422 3255), open 1-4pm from Monday to Thursday and 9-11.30pm on Friday and Saturday.

INTO THE NIGHT

Though much more civilised than a pub crawl, txikiteo, the ritual of going from bar to bar in groups and drinking small glasses of wine, often ends in the same result. At least here there's no excuse to do it on an empty stomach. Txakoli (a fresh, slightly sparkling wine) and cider are the locals' drinks of choice. Most of the best bars are dotted around the Casco Viejo and almost every one serves an array of pintxos, the Basque version of tapas: try Bar Bilbao (6 Plaza Nueva), unpretentious Los Fueros (6 Calle Los Fueros) for grilled shellfish and Txiriboga (13 Calle Santa Maria Kalea). Or catch a play, ballet, opera or concert at the stately Teatro Arriaga (00 34 94 416 3333, www.teatroarriaga.com), modelled after the Opera in Paris. An alternative venue is the 2,200-seat auditorium at the Palacio Euskalduna (00 34 94 403 5000, www.euskalduna.net), an arts and meetings complex built in a former shipyard.

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